Rebirth Counterattack with Space

Chapter 60: Chapter 60 The Power of Habit

Chapter 60 -60 The Power of Habit

The meal didn’t last long, less than an hour before it was over. After all, the journey was long, and the two Lu families still had children with them and needed to rush on the night road to get back.

On the way back, Xie Jiang and Xie Changgen each carried a basket on their back, and each had two bunches of washed grapes stuffed into their hands by their second aunt, wrapped in lotus leaves so they could eat them while walking.

The happiest was Xie Jifu, who carefully held his share of grapes, hopping and skipping along on his own. From time to time, he would pluck a grape and chew on it, even grinding the skin and pits together to swallow, not willing to spit them out.

Xie Jiang and Xie Changgen didn’t eat much of their grapes. They were a little reluctant and wanted to save more for their wives and children to eat. Lu Aijiao and Lu Aimei found it funny but also a bit heart-wrenching, so they didn’t forget to stuff a few grapes into their mouths while eating, letting them taste it too.

“Mom, when will we come back to Grandma’s house?” After eating several grapes in one go, Xie Jifu looked at Lu Aijiao with anticipation, “I really like Auntie San.”

“We haven’t even got home yet, and you’re already thinking about next time?” Lu Aijiao smiled and patted her son’s head.

“We can’t afford to go often, eating and taking like this, or your grandma won’t be able to host us. All her savings wouldn’t be enough for us to carry away. You little glutton, is it because of the chocolate Auntie San gave you that you’re remembering her?”

“It’s not that, Auntie San is the prettiest, and she doesn’t scold people. I like Sister Xiaoyun too.” Xie Jifu became annoyed, unwilling to admit his greed.

He subconsciously reached out to touch the bulging pockets of his four pieces of clothing, which were filled with White Rabbit Creamy Candies. Sister Xiaoyun had filled his pockets with those candies when they were leaving.

“What do you have in your pockets?” Lu Aijiao, sharp-eyed, noticed her son’s movements right away, and seeing the bulge in his pockets, there was nothing she didn’t understand. Her face changed abruptly, and her voice became stern.

“Are you going to take it out yourself, or should I? Did you take the snacks from Grandma’s plate? How have I taught you? Do you still want to go to Grandma’s house next time?”

“Sister, don’t be angry, let’s first hear what Jifu has to say; maybe someone stuffed it in his pocket.” Lu Aimei quickly interjected upon seeing the elder sister’s signs of anger, “Sister, don’t jump to conclusions. Our Jifu isn’t that kind of child.”

“Just listen to him first.”

“Don’t wrong the child.”

Xie Jiang and Xie Changgen also rushed to persuade. 𝒇𝓻𝓮𝓮𝙬𝙚𝒃𝒏𝓸𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝓬𝓸𝒎

“Fine. You talk.” Lu Aijiao suppressed her anger and glared at Xie Jifu.

Xie Jifu’s eyes widened, and with tears in them, he looked pitifully at Lu Aijiao. Holding grapes in one hand, he took out a few candies from his pocket with the other and showed his open palm, “Sister Xiaoyun gave them to me, they’re White Rabbit Creamy Candies. I didn’t take anything from Grandma’s snack plate.”

“Sister, Jifu is not lying. Today, mom’s snack plate didn’t have this candy.”

Lu Aimei squatted down and touched Jifu’s head, “Your mom didn’t mean it, she’s just afraid that you’ll be looked down upon if you don’t learn to behave. In a hurry. They say ‘steal a needle at a young age, steal gold when older,’ and one can’t take the wrong path, or it’ll be the end of them, not amounting to anything.”

“Good child, it was Mom who wronged you.” Lu Aijiao breathed a sigh of relief and squatted down to look at her son. “In the future, you must remember, it’s okay to take things given to you by family members. If there’s anything you want, ask Dad and Mom first, and you can take it if they agree. But you mustn’t secretly take things without permission, understand?”

“I understand, so can I take this candy since Sister Xiaoyun gave it to me?” Xie Jifu nodded obediently, his face filled with expectation as he looked at Lu Aijiao.

“That’s fine. Sister Xiaoyun is family. Just don’t eat it all at once,” Lu Aijiao nodded.

“I know, Sister Xiaoyun said not to eat too much at once, or else all my teeth will fall out.” Xie Jifu hurriedly pocketed the candy again, grinning so wide with happiness.

“Sister Xiaoyun also said that after they go to Haicheng, there will be even more delicious things, and she will send some to me. Dabao and Xiaobao are still little and can only drink formula, so all the treats will be mine. But dissolving a White Rabbit Creamy Candy in hot water tastes better than formula. Mom, when you go back, can you help me try it, please? Sister Xiaoyun said not to add too much water…”

All the way home, Xie Jifu’s chatter was nonstop, either about Sister Xiaoyun or revolving around his third aunt, until he got tired and was carried in turns by sisters Lu Aijiao and Lu Aimei, still murmuring from time to time. The adults couldn’t help but burst into laughter listening to him.

As soon as they got back home, Xia Yuan couldn’t wait to call Lu Aiguo and Shitou over, showed them the money and the bills, and recounted their sales exploits of the day, earning Lu Aiguo’s praise: “My wife is the most capable.” This made Xia Yuan so proud, her tail nearly wagged to the sky.

Lu Yun rolled her eyes at her mother’s pride, chuckling to herself, and Shitou whispered, “You guys are really bold.”

“Bold ones die from courage, timid ones die from starvation,” Lu Yun stuck her tongue out at Shitou.

Shitou laughed.

The next day, Lu Aiguo and Shitou went to the mountain early again, with both breakfast and lunch prepared by Xia Yuan for them to take along.

Every morning around ten o’clock, although the sun was still blazing, the vine-shaded courtyard of the Lu Family was spared from direct sunlight at this time. So sitting on a stone bench washed with cool well water felt very comfortable, with an occasional breeze not being too hot.

At this moment, Lu Yun was sitting with her mother under the grapevines next to the stone table, learning to read.

That’s right, “learning to read.”

Spread out in front of the mother-daughter pair was a Xinhua dictionary, one teaching, the other learning. Of course, if one could ignore the frustration and helplessness that Lu Yun was desperately trying to suppress, then this scene looked harmonious and warm.

In the past few days, Lu Yun had imagined a thousand scenarios for the future. She kept asking herself, what did she truly want to do with her life?

After pondering, Lu Yun realized that aside from continuing alchemy, she didn’t seem to have any other particular desire.

In her past life, she had spent the majority of half her life dealing with herbs and had fully understood the first half of the Pharmacopoeia. Lu Yun had thought she would grow tired of alchemy in this life. Yet, after just a few days without touching the alchemy cauldron or starting to process herbs, she was already itching to get started with alchemy again.

After all, she was still infatuated with the second half of the Pharmacopoeia, of which she had only grasped the surface. To truly understand it, practice was essential. It was like someone who aimed to conquer a high mountain and felt they were infinitely close to the peak and was full of energy when suddenly they were told to stop and not go any higher—how excruciating would that feel?

Lu Yun sighed; the power of habit was indeed frightening. When had she moved from forcing herself to make a living through alchemy to truly enjoying it?